Yours beyond the mist
by Peachy Keenest
Summary: After the untimely deaths of her parents, Melody meets a young boy named Jesse. Years later she moves to her inherited ranch, leaving Jesse alone. She soon meets a mysterious, alluring stranger named Cliff...
1. Prologue

I stood huddled next to my mother, standing under an awning beside a closed café, trying to keep out of the rain. I stamped my tiny pink rain boots in a puddle impatiently. I had no idea what was going on.

"Mommy? Where's daddy?" I asked curiously. She crouched down to meet her honey eyes with mine.

"He'll be back soon sweetheart. He's got a surprise for you," she said with a wink. I grew more impatient by the minute. The rain grew weary, and I started to blink with sleepy eyes. My mother picked me up, rubbing my back. She smelled like honeysuckle as golden as her eyes. It was one of my fondest memories.

After an endless hour of waiting, a silhouette appeared at the end of the block. I rubbed my eyes and yawned. My face brightened when I saw my father, and raced in the light drizzle to attack his legs with my tiny hugs. He laughed and patted me on the head. I was confused. He normally picked me up and twirled me around. But my attention was averted when the right side of his trench coat began to wriggle, and I jumped when the khaki colored fabric sneezed. My father crouched down and unbuttoned his coat. A yellow ball of fur lunged playfully out of it, wildly licking my face with hot puppy breath, thumping his tail on my legs.

"Is he ours Daddy?" I asked with wide eyes.

"Tell you what, if you come up with a reaaaaally good name for him, he's all yours." I smiled from ear to ear.

"You mean it?" I stood there for a few minutes wracking my four-year-old brain. "How about pumpkin?"

My father looked over at mother who nodded. "Pumpkin it is!" I clutched my new puppy in one arm, and walked hand in hand with my mother back to our car. As we drove, a mist began to creep along the road. In the woods I saw a flash of blonde and blue for a second, resembling a young boy. But instead of lingering on it, I fell asleep with my cheek pressed against the window, and pumpkin snoring in my lap.


	2. Unavoidable

**Chapter One: Unavoidable**

When I turned six my father began to get sick. At first he would continue his daily routines, ignoring that anything was wrong. My mother would often sit by herself and watch him work by the window.

A week later while he was out in the pasture he collapsed. My mother bolted from her seat to his side in moments. He finally agreed to go see a doctor, so they went to the city immediately, leaving me with my best friend Lyla and her parents. I stayed there for almost a week, oblivious to the impending doom that would affect me.

When I played with Lyla her parents watched over us, often staring with sad eyes. Finally after six days my mother returned. She opened the door and I rushed to her legs and hugged her. She fell to her knees and began to scream. Lyla's parents rushed to her, and I was brought to a different room with Lyla. I remember the fear that beat into my heart. Up until a certain point in my life, the events prior were vague, and dark. My mother went insane with out my father, cooping herself up at our house, starving, eventually she passed away.

I was seven when she died and I remember again the sick feeling that worked itself into my body. I lived from that moment on with a sense of being lost. I was sent to live with Lyla and her parents, since my family lived too far away.

Around the time I turned eight I had become quite the little monster. I would scream and ruin things, and often run away from the house for hours until sun set.

One of the times I ran away, I ran into the woods where I saw the boy. I walked along the dirt road, kicking rocks and cursing the world. I saw a flash of blonde in the bushes. I got angry because someone was watching me.

"Come out!" I screamed.

Slowly the figure showed itself, revealing to be the young boy from years ago, although I didn't realize it for almost a decade. I stared at him defiantly. He stood only a few yards away, staring back with big, electric blue eyes.

"What?" I yelled.

He seemed to shrink for a minute, and then drew a breath.

"Why are you so angry?" he asked audaciously. He took me aback, and I again felt small and powerless, naked even.

I blinked back hot tears, and replied, "I don't know."

I went back to the house, leaving the blonde boy by himself in the forest. I was silent at dinner, until curiosity got the best of me.

"Who is the little blonde boy that plays in the forest?" I asked. Lyla who was in mid-sentence shut up and stared at me, along with her mother, for I hadn't talked in months to any body, or at least tried to start a conversation.

"Little blonde boy…hmmm..." her father pondered. "Ah yes! You must mean Woody's little boy. He is like you Melody, his parents passed away three years ago, so he has come to stay with woody since, and the funny thing is he is your age too."

I got up from the table and cleared up my plate, then went into my dark room. I hid under my blankets, thinking back about how I had treated him, when he must've been feeling pain all along. I resolved to go to the forest the next day and apologize.


	3. Two of a kind

**Chapter Two: Two of a kind**

The day started out pretty hot, becoming even hotter by the afternoon, Do trailing behind me as I set off in the forest in search of Jesse. I didn't have to look for long because he was squatted next to the river poking the water with a stick. I walked up behind him, watching.

"Do you always play by yourself?" He turned around and looked up with a surprised expression as he realized it was me. He patted the ground next to him, so I sat.

"Look," he pointed to something in the water. I peered into it and saw a pink star. He picked it up with the stick and put it in my face.

"Ewww, don't put that in my face." He put it back in the water.

"You're kinda strange you know," I said. He shrugged as though it didn't really concern him much.

I hung around Jesse until it began to get dark. We had walked around the meadow, and he told me about the flowers and different kinds of trees. We played tag and watched the billowing clouds. I waved good bye, again leaving him in the woods, Do on my heels.

The following weeks I spent playing in the forest with Jesse. He often told me something I didn't know or interested me. I became fond of the odd little boy and before I knew it we were thirteen and fourteen (him being older) and getting caught in the rain.

We stood under a gigantic tree, which probably wasn't the safest thing to do, but I sat on a low limb and watched the far off lightning bolts with awe. Jesse stood with his back against the tree looking deep in thought.

"Hey, what are you thinking?" He smiled mirthlessly and shook his head.

I huffed like I always did when I wanted him to tell me something and hung upside down from the limb with my legs and my hair flying wildly from the wind. I stared at him, and after a while he stared back. I sat right side up and watched him as he moved closer to my low limb. When he was close enough to where I could faintly feel his heart beat against mine. I closed my eyes as his face came near mine and he awkwardly kissed me. After he moved away from the branch I sat on and slid down to the ground with his back against the tree. I twirled on the tree branch so I could face the other way, both of us obviously embarrassed. We sat there like that for about an hour until the rain finally let up and the sun came out. When we were walking on the road to go back and see where we had left Lyla, she surprised us and popped out of a bush.

"There you are! Where have you all been? I got the berries," she said. We both nodded silently.

"Why are you faces so red? Did you catch a fever or something?" Lyla said noting our red faces and awkward silence.

After that incident, Jesse and I began to grow even closer, often leaving Lyla out in certain things, sometimes even ditching her so we could do what we had planned with out her slowing us down. But although I spent a lot of time with Jesse, Lyla and I still remained close throughout the years, sometimes even excluding Jesse out of things.


	4. New beginnings

**Chapter 3: New Beginnings**

I woke with the light blinding me, and glanced around my empty room. Everything was barren save a couple screws in the closet. I got up and dressed myself in a green tank top and jean shorts. I went into the kitchen where Lyla's new husband Basil sat. He glanced up with his beautiful olive green eyes, and smiled. I smiled back and went into the den where Lyla was arranging flowers from her shop, obviously upset. I coughed and she looked up and sniffed.

"Hey," she said. I went up to her and hugged her.

"Lyla I am going to miss you sooooooooooo much!" I said while fighting back tears.

"Yeah," she said with a husky voice and finally broke the two of us down. Burning tears fell from my eyes. She squeezed my hands and sobbed. In the middle of our crying, Basil interrupted.

"Excuse me," he said with a light smile, pointing to the brigade of people waiting to tell me farewell. Lyla smiled sadly and pushed me towards them. I approached Woody and Gwen first.

"I told Jesse about this, but I still haven't seen him," Woody informed me. I nodded and hugged the old man gently.

During the middle of my farewell party I went outside for some fresh air. The party was making me weary. I glanced up at the afternoon sky, frost from the winter still chilling my breath into the air. I sighed and slumped down onto the ground.

_I wonder why Jesse isn't here_, I thought with a melancholy grimace. I sat for around twenty minutes staring into the sky, praying. The bushes rustled mysteriously. My heart beat rapidly with hope. I peered over the bushes and saw nothing but the puff of a bunny's tail. My heart sank. Suddenly a blonde mess of man emerged from the brush. I smiled, recognizing my old friend.

"Jesse!" I exclaimed. He smiled shyly and hugged me. I tousled his hair and gazed into his electric blue coloured eyes. Jesse wasn't the same meek little boy from the forest; he was taller, more talkative, and worked hard. He and I often clashed heads with our brazen personalities, but we couldn't stay mad at each other for long.

When I was around seventeen we had started dating, and eventually fell in love. We spent way too much time together, never doing anything else, so we decided to break-up. We had still remained close friends, so when I told Jesse, a couple months before, I was leaving River Blossom he was very upset and refused to talk to me. Instead he just worked in the forest alone, doing his regular work with other odd jobs and returning to his child muteness. I was extremely relieved to find him there at my party. After we stopped hugging he pulled something from the bushes that he was carrying I must have missed.

"Close your eyes, no peeking," he ordered. I did as he said while he opened the tiny box. After a few moments I felt his warm hands on my neck, one of them lifting my hair. My heart raced while he did this, we were so close I could feel his breath and hear it. Then something cold on my neck suddenly brought me back from my warm trance.

"Ok, open," he said. I opened my eyes and first saw Jesse's smile, the only thing that hadn't changed throughout the years. It was one of the things I loved most about him. I peeked at my neck and picked up the small metal amulet into my hands and marveled at it. It was a tree that looked a lot like the big tree where Jesse and I had played often growing up, where we had our first kiss.

On the back it said, "Yours beyond the mist." Although the saying puzzled me, I smiled with tears sneaking out of my eyes.

"I made it myself," he said. I sobbed loudly and he walked over to me and held me in his arms. "I know it wasn't easy for you to make this choice Mel. I should've realized it sooner but I just didn't want to lose you. I just love you so much. It hurts me too, but I will always, always be here for you no matter what. I hope you already know that," he whispered softly gazing into my eyes. I nodded fervently and squeezed him as hard as I could. He held me at arms length, and looked at me for a few moments, making me blush. He wiped a tear away from my face and leaned into my face, and kissed my forehead. He looked away so I couldn't see his face. He tried to hold his tears defensively.

"Bye Mel," he waved and disappeared into the woods from which he came. I sat there for a few more moments with the necklace dangling from my fingers. Then I went back into the house where the party resumed, and finished saying my farewells to all of my other friends.

By the time everyone left, I was exhausted. I went into my room and undressed into a pair of sweat shorts and a t-shirt. Even though it was only seven-thirty p.m., I collapsed on my bed, falling soundly asleep, with my necklace held fondly in my hand. The next day, I would set out for my childhood home.


	5. The mysterious stranger and his dog

**Chapter Four: The Mysterious Stranger and His Dog**

Lyla and I left for my new ranch early the next morning. By the time we arrived, it was nearly afternoon; the sky painted with puffy clouds and deep blues. I stretched my legs in the brittle, itchy grass with a yawn. We started to unload all of my belongings out of Lyla's beat up truck.

"Melody, I'm going to miss you a lot!" She said. "It's going to be different, especially between you and Jesse," she winked. I rolled my eyes and continued hauling boxes. "You know what I mean!" Lyla called after me, but I pretended not to hear.

After we finished unloading I told her, "This is something I need to do, I'm sure my father would want this. I am glad that I got to grow up with you! Without you I would probably be a boring person."

"Yeah, you wouldn't have even gone on a date, the way you were," she teased. I chuckled, remembering all the times we snuck out to go to parties and all the times we got in trouble at school.

We stood near her truck and reminisced over fond memories for about twenty minutes, sometimes busting out laughing, others giving each other dejected looks. She hugged me a final time and I watched as her teal truck pulled out of the dirt road and seemingly into forever.

I entered my old home, and the loneliness seemed to echo back as if it were being mockful, every time I made a small noise. I looked around the house, remembering where pictures I drew used to be; looking at the tub where my mother and I would play, my father popping out of no where with a bubble beard. After I looked around most of the house I started unpacking lightly, because I still had to paint. I planned on leaving my old room alone for a while.

After fixing the kitchen and eating, I pulled a blanket over myself as I began to drift off on my new couch, since my bed had yet to be set up, and fell into a dream almost instantaneously; leaving no evidence it was there at all.

Around twelve p.m. the next day, I took a break and sought out on an adventure around the town to free myself. I walked around idly, moving toward the Goddess Pond, clad in a pair of ripped jean shorts and a polka-dotted summer top. I sat near the edge of the pond dipping my feet in the summer-struck water and sighed.

It felt nice to be alone in nature for a while and to get away from the paint fumes of which emanated from my house. I spent about an hour just sitting near the pond, listening to the soft sounds of nature. The birds seemed to sing an exclusive song of which only they understood. I closed my eyes, feeling as if my parents were around me. I smiled and sat there peacefully. While I sat, a whimper began to whine in my ear.

At first, I thought it was my imagination. As the persistent whines kept buzzing getting louder as they approached, I realized there might actually be something in the bushes. I crouched down to the opening of a bush and saw a fluffy ball of burnt brown lunge at me. At first I squealed, thinking it was a wild animal. I laughed, as I realized it was a puppy that jumped to lick my face and tickled my cheeks, as its tail beat my legs wildly. When it squirmed I noticed a tube in between the brilliant coat of brown and its tiny, sharp puppy teeth. I reached for it with much difficulty, as the puppy enjoyed bouncing around, and finally held it in my hands. But before I could reveal the contents, a young man, around my age, with long chocolate hair and blueberry coloured eyes, arrived on the scene jogging. He looked relieved to see the pup and then noticed me. His eyes fell to the ground and his cheeks burnt.

"Lulu, have you been causing trouble to people again? … I'm sorry, she tends to wriggle out of my arms and run off, heh heh," he said with a shy smile.

"Yeah, she just can't keep still," I said and laughed with him as he stuck his hand out for me so I could get up from the ground.

As I stood up, a wave of dizziness flew over me. My legs evaporated in the air and I fell onto the handsome stranger in front of me. My face was very close to his, to the point where I could hear his soft breaths. He put his hands on my back and rolled onto me then grasping my hands. He got up and pulled me to my legs. He held me to him for a few seconds ensuring we both wouldn't topple over again. During these moments, I remembered the way Jesse held me like that, making my face rogue ever so lightly. He pulled me away from him and looked me in the eyes with his shy gaze and cherried cheeks. I stared back, making him look away. By this time, I had all but remembered the tube his dog had brought me.


	6. Melodies captured on paper

**Chapter Five: Melodies Captured on Paper**

It seemed we stood there staring at each other for an eternity, although it was only seconds, as I gazed into this strangers naturally bejeweled-by-God's eyes. My stomach began to flutter. I felt as if I were swimming in his distant eyes. I had to look up when he stood up all the way, because he was much taller than me.

"I am really sorry," he said with scarlet cheeks. I shook my head. "I'm, uh, I'm Cliff, by the way."

He held out his hand for me to shake. He seemed flustered from our encounter, which made my heart wild, but I tried to hide it and seem normal so he wouldn't think I was weird. His face was forlorn, and familiar. I tried to remember where I had seen it before. I shook his hand, which was rough and weary. His fingers were long and slim like bars, but instead of being hard and brittle they were soft and warm. I glanced at his hand noticing a scar tainting his hand all the way up to his inner elbow. As I began to trace it with my eyes, he quickly withdrew his hand, wiping it on his long, slim pants.

"Well, my name is Melody. Uh, I'm really sorry, I have awful balance," I said my cheeks feeling like the curry Lyla was in the process of burning a few nights prior.

"No problem. Did my dog bother you? I hope she didn't give you too much trouble…" he asked.

"Not at all. She's a cutie." She reminded me a lot of Do.

We fell into an awkward silence. Before I could mention the tube Lulu had brought me my thoughts were interrupted. He pointed over at where my house was hidden by the trees.

"I just moved here from River Blossom. I'm kinda still getting settled at the moment, over at the ranch."

"Ah, well good luck with the farm," he said, glancing over at my new ranch.

"Where are you from?" I said.

After a few moments her replied, "I live in Mineral Town, the town next to this. I escape here when I get overwhelmed…" he trailed off. I gave him a look. He just smiled his lonely smile, and then glanced up, noticing the tired sky. "Well, it's getting late. C'mon Lulu, let's go." I hadn't realized the time. With a sharp whistle the dog was at his heels. He turned back smiling and said," I'll see you soon, Melody," and waved. I smiled and went back to my house not exactly sure what I had just gotten myself into.

That night when I went to take my shower for the night, I rediscovered the wooden tube Cliff's dog left with me. I looked for an opening and found a crevice I could crack it open it with, and found a knife. Finally after few attempts, my slightly bloodied finger slide the tube open. A piece of artist paper fell out. I rolled out the sheet and gasped.

In my hands was a portrait of me, when I was smaller, sitting by the pond and the most beautiful, serene expression on my face I'd ever seen. I wondered how someone could've captured such an expression. Around me instead of leaves on the trees were melodies captured dancing in the breeze. In the corner it said "To Melody." Much to my surprise the portrait had no signature anywhere. That night, the heaviness of my heart seemed if only a little, to be at ease. With curiosity or a final opportunity to not be lonely, I couldn't tell.


	7. Water's Deception

…This is a long chapter so prepare yourself. Lots of events take place but I hope you all still like it, because it is quite interesting. Thank you explodin artist for all your awesome reviews! …

**Chapter Six: Water's deception**

The next few days I spent crammed inside my house with paint fumes and finally empty boxes. I had finally furnished my house. When I went out again it was a Sunday, and with nothing to do, I decided to go out on a walk and re-introduce myself to my new neighbors. I seemed to take me forever to walk all around and introduce myself, not that I minded, I could probably have used some exercise.

Finally back into the centre of town, it seemed I had missed a house. I knocked on one of the three houses assembled in a row. I stood for minutes and right before I gave up, an old man with part of his face dismembered opened the door. I tried my hardest not to be rude and stare, but it kind of frightened me.

"Hell-…," I quieted. "Gah, I'm sorry. Hell-o, my name is Mel-," I began.

"Ah yes, you're the new resident in this town. Melody right? Please don't worry about this. Most people can't talk at all their first time. It's quite all right." He smiled with a calm face and a wink.

"Doctor Hardy? Who's at the door?" A young woman came from behind my new stranger, and looked at me.

"Oh, hello. My name's Elli," She said. I glanced at her mid-riff which seemed swollen, and where a hand naturally flew as if it was a habit.

"Please come in," She offered. I thanked her and followed into the house.

After introducing myself, I met another man who appeared to be a doctor as well, who went by the name Trent. He was Elli's newlywed husband. Elli talked to me about Forget-Me-Not Valley for a while as she brewed a delicious vanilla chai tea. As she sat down waiting for the tea, her hand flew to her stomach again in a natural, pregnant manner. I smiled, a little envious of this new stranger because she had found someone to spend the rest of her life with.

"So why have you decided to move here?" She asked while she set down two cups of tea for us.

"Well it was either taking over my father's farm, or living with my best friend and her husband forever. Don't get me wrong, I love Lyla to pieces, but I just didn't want to burden her or her parents as much as I already have…" I replied.

"Oh?" she gave me a look.

"When I was young, my father died of a sudden tumor. My mother went crazy after he died and soon after starved herself to death. Before that though, I was sent to live with Lyla and her parents. After my mother passed away, I began to act like a brat and caused them so much trouble. Of course I grew out of it, but I just feel like even after living with them for years, I always felt like I was intruding on them. But I guess if I told them that, they would think I was ungrateful and dislike me."

"I'm sure that's not the case," Trent remarked. "If they felt that you were intruding I'm sure they would've said so, and made you know they felt that way. But instead they raised you with care and love. Instead of feeling remorse, you should be thanking them for the years you've been lucky to have spent with them." I just nodded, taking in his words, knowing he was right.

Elli and I talked for a little while longer and then I left, promising I would visit in the next few days. I was happy to finally have made a friend I would seem actually be really close to.

I walked around the current, near Goddess Pond, and watched the fish at the bottom. I began to think about Lyla. Was she like Elli, already expecting a baby? To think I would miss the most important moments of my best friend's life as she started a family. This grief veiled over my heart, making it seems like a part of me, its pain unmasked, causing me trouble incessantly. I started to cry and the tears fell like rain onto my cheeks. My thoughts consumed my awareness, as I sat there and pondered over everything that had happened in the past few months.

I got up and turned around to leave, but a root caught my shoe. I yanked my leg away trying to free it, but instead slipped and tumbled into the cool water and strong current. As I tumbled, I fell on rocks, which sliced my leg, creating a searing pain. I tried to scream but my mouth was full of fresh, cold water as I thrashed, trying to pull myself up. I sank to the bottom unconsciously, but had vague memories of a young man pulling me out of the water and reviving me. I was being carried into a room. Everything after that was a shadow that would never show itself.


	8. Insecure Feelings

**A/N: I left you with a cliffhanger! Read more to see what happens…**

**Chapter Seven: Insecure feelings**

When I woke, I was in my bedroom, crutches lying against one of the posts of my bed. I grabbed them, feeling groggy and numb. I went into the living room where lights were left on. I could hear noises in the kitchen. I hobbled myself into the kitchen where a familiar figure stood brewing a pot of tea.

"Elli!" I exclaimed. She turned around with a surprised look.

"Good, you're awake. Everyone was starting to get worried your injuries were more serious than they are," she said.

"What happened to me? All I remember is falling into the water….how could it be that serious?" She motioned for me to sit at the table, so I swung on one crutch and did.

"You fell into the current, which is pretty strong. Apparently a root was attached to your leg, which kept you under. When you fell in you fractured your ankle, sliced your leg, luckily no tendons, and cracked two of your ribs. It will only take a few weeks for your ribs and leg to heal, but your ankle may take you out of business for quite a while if you don't have surgery."

I put my hands through my golden hair, overwhelmed with the news. I had already planned to fix up the barn and start planting seeds once the order came in at Vesta's. Everything seemed pointless then. I became aggravated at my own carelessness. But a thought crossed my mind; _who saved me? _

"Elli, do you know who saved me from drowning?"

"Hmmmm, I think it was Cliff who brought you to the clinic. You might want to ask him. But let's wait until you are better. I will be here for the next few days until you can get the hang of things on your own. It's good to see you alright; I was really worried my new friend had become comatose. You've been asleep for three days straight." She smiled kindly and set a piping cup of tea in front of me. I sipped it, watching the ominous fog that crept slowly into the valley.

For the next few days Elli stayed with me. During the time, she made me rest, although I think it would've done her some good as well, because she seemed to get tired easily walking around with a baby in her stomach. We often sat on the veranda during the hours the sun waned and talked about our lives. I was surprised to find out that Elli had a younger brother and that they were orphaned too. I told her about River Blossom and my friends there. She listened intently, seeming genuinely interested. It was nice to have another friend to confide in when my best friend was miles away. Again my loneliness seemed to ease if only a little.

Finally it came time for Elli to go back to her home in Mineral Town, so I was left with my ribs and slice almost healed; my ankle still off. I started to think that maybe I wasn't meant to be here, that maybe this was a sign from God I wasn't welcome. I resolved to thank Cliff for saving me, and go back to River Blossom. I'd live with Lyla until I could find somewhere else to go. So when the weekend came around, during the afternoon I swung myself on crutches to the pond where I couldn't find Cliff at all.

"Cliff!" I called out. "Cliff!"

I called out his name for a few minutes and then retired and sat on a tree stump. The sky looked cloudy and as much as I would have rather continued looking for Cliff, I got up to leave before I got rained on. While I was getting up on one crutch Cliff suddenly appeared from the woods and helped me up handing me my crutches.

"Thanks," I said.

"No problem," he said averting his eyes, shyly.

"No I mean for the other day. You saved my life. Thank you so much. But I am leaving soon, I can't stay."

"Why?" he asked with a cocked head, his owl eyes boring into my heart.

"I don't think I am meant to be here. This obviously proves it," I said pointing to my injuries.

"It was just an accident nothing more... Aside from that...," he seemed to have difficulty trying to get out what he wanted to say. " I'm sure your new friends here would miss you a lot," as he said that, his face cherried immensely.

"I'm not so sure. I am planning on leaving in two weeks." I smiled sadly at him. Looking at this injury reminded me of the pain in my heart I suffered from chronically. It was neither shallow nor deep enough for me to die over. Although I wondered what the point of my life was, and if it mattered if I was around. It seemed that somewhere between my father's and mother's death darkness quietly, slowly consumed my childself until she was nothing but a figure draped in chains somewhere in my subconscious.

"Thanks again," I said. Then I hobbled away, leaving Cliff, who looked like a sad, abandoned puppy in the cold.


	9. Fuzzy Feelings

**Chapter Eight: Fuzzy Feelings**

I woke up the next morning with my ankle in pain, more than usual. I sat in the kitchen waiting for the pain to subside, but instead it got worse. I cursed and got up to go to the clinic where only Doctor Hardy would be on a Sunday. He examined my ankle again and gave me a look. Then he wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to me.

"More pain medication should help. Try to stay off of it for now as much as possible and I think you should consider it getting operated on. Instead of the bone healing and coming back together, it's pushing away into a tendon, which is very odd indeed. If you are willing we could set up a date and time right now?" He said.

"Thank you, but let me sleep on it." Surgery was definitely something I hadn't had to worry about ever. I supposed I would do it when I moved back to River Blossom, which was only a week away.

When I entered the gates of my ranch I saw Cliff bent over the fence petting something. As I walked closer I realized it was a horse. Cliff noticed me and walked over.

"Hey Melody," Cliff greeted me with his usual shy smile. "Umm, do you mind doing me a favor?" He looked at me expectantly with his blueberry, owl-like eyes.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Would you mind keeping this horse for me? I, uh, found it in the woods, and..." He trailed off and began to stare at his feet. He mumbled something too low for me to hear. _Great another set back, _I thought. While I thought of what I should do, I saw Cliff watch the magnificent animal with worried eyes. I sighed and slid down onto the porch steps and thought. So many things plagued my mind that I honestly felt like I was going to explode.

"Only for the night. I've got stuff I have to take care of and I am really busy," I reasoned. Cliff's face lit up.

"Thanks Melody!" He smiled at me then disappeared into the barn where he took the horse he named Butterscotch and fed her. I went into my house and lay on my bed, trying to ignore everything that had gone on.

The next morning, a Monday, I went into the barn where Butterscotch stood obediently. I sat on the porch for about two hours waiting for Cliff, realizing he probably wouldn't come because he had to work, and wouldn't be back for a week. I grumbled and went back inside where I could still hear the whinnies of Butterscotch. I got up again and hobbled into her stall. I marveled at her light brown coat and her chocolate brown eyes. She rubbed her head against my shoulders, which made me smiled and sent shivers up my spine. I patted her soft head while I rubbed her fine coat. She whinnied, which made me laugh, melting away all the hard emotions away.

"You like that?" I said with a smile and began scratching her ears, which she loved even more. In the midst of this, Cliff must have snuck in the barn because when I glanced over he was leaned against a wall watching us with a smile.

"She's a sweetheart..." He said. " Sorry I had to work, I would've come sooner otherwise, but it was a busy day." I nodded and stepped back from the horse. Cliff took her reigns and led her to the pasture. I wondered where the horse would go. Certainly not with Cliff, because he stayed at an inn, and I was sure he hadn't found anywhere to keep her at all.

"Cliff, she can stay until I leave," I said surprising myself. He looked up with a surprised expression and smiled. After, we stood around, feeding Butterscotch her grass and berries; talking and laughing when she mistook my hair for the grass.

Around sunset, Cliff left back for Mineral town promising to see me the next day. When he said that, my heart fluttered slightly. I couldn't wait for his visit the next day. And the whole time, instead of those insecure feelings that had been there, I felt fuzzy, warm feelings as I waited.


End file.
